"Let your body do what it wants to do"- Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone recalls coach Bobby Kersee's advice before world record run at US Olympic Trials

The acclaimed hurdler and sprinter Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has shared her coach’s unique ability to understand an athlete’s natural physicality and potential. The four-time Olympic gold medalist expressed she achieved impressive feats under his tutelage.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone specializes in 400-meter hurdles and 400-meter events and holds the world record in the 400-meter hurdles. Through her views, she highlighted Kersee's vision of encouraging her to follow her natural and instinctive traits, which strayed away from the conventional running patterns.

During her appearance in “The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast,” with her husband Andre Levrone Jr., the athlete mentioned Kersee’s advice to follow her natural prowess instead of training with a specific set of techniques. She added:

“Bobby [Kersee] is just a genius; Bobby's been in the sport for 40 something years; he's been to 12 Olympics; he's got at least one gold medal in all of those Olympics; and he taught me the race, I think, very thoroughly and very well, but he also taught me that God made me the way I am for a reason, right,” she shared [45:01 onwards]

McLaughlin-Levrone continued,

“I'm tall naturally, I have a long stride and we were doing practice is but for some reason my body just wanted to go 14 and that's not normally how you run the race and he was like, why don't we just let your body do what it wants to do. He literally had a text that just repeatedly said let your body do what it wants to do, let your body do what it like 50 times right before the Olympic trials,” she added.

During her collegiate career, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone represented the Kentucky Wildcats and achieved a new junior record in 400 meters at the 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone reflects on what sets her apart from other competitors

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone at the Wanda Diamond League 2024 Final - Allianz Memorial Van Damme Brussels - Source: Getty

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone has become an iconic athlete. She broke the world record for the sixth time in the 400m hurdles in the 2024 Paris Olympics. She won gold medals in 400 m hurdles, and 4×400 m relay and clinched the same titles in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. During her recent appearance in “Grand Slam Track,” she shared her insights on her distinctive mastery and what sets her apart from her competitors. She added:

“I can do a plethora of events, from the sprinting to the 400 to the hurdles to the short hurdles, long jump. That's one of my strengths is that I am very dynamic,” she shared [0:51 onwards]

The prominent hurdler and sprinter reflected on her ability to excel in multiple track and field events and shared that she is "very versatile". Furthermore, she added that she can easily adapt to various physical challenges, considering different events, and can perform well in them. In 2022, she was awarded the Female Athlete of the Year by the World Athletics.